Roz Savage reaches Hawaii on September 1 after rowing from San Francisco.

Roz Savage, the record setting long distance rower, left from beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on May 25 and rowed her 24 ft boat across 2,300 miles of treacherous Pacific Ocean until she arrived in Hawaii on September 1.

For Roz, the Pacific row represented an opportunity to communicate the environmental motivation for her adventures, with her efforts focused entirely on calling attention to the importance of marine conservation, marine sanctuaries and publicizing the plight of the world's oceans.

"The health of the oceans is essential to the health of our planet. I hope to raise awareness of this vitally important issue by sharing my adventures via the internet, and to motivate people to do their bit to help," Savage said. "I hope to also inspire others to rise to their own challenges-no matter how big or daunting those challenges may seem."

During Roz's first attempt to row across the Pacific in July 2007, gale force winds and 20-foot-high waves capsized her boat several times less than two weeks into her journey. When a concerned well-wisher called in the Coast Guard, Roz was rescued from the dangerous conditions. After returning to dry land, Roz immediately began preparations for her second attempt.

Carrying the message of ocean conservation across the Pacific between national marine sanctuaries, Roz, her sponsors and partners sought to raise awareness about the devastating effect plastic pollution is having on the planet's oceans and marine wildlife.

Naomi McIntosh and 'Aulani Wilhelm greet Roz in Waikiki. (Photo: Keely Belva)

Daniel J. Basta, director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said, "Roz's steadfast determination reminds us that we must connect our everyday actions to protecting the ocean." 

At the completion of her remarkable ocean journey Roz was met in Waikiki by official sanctuary greeters superintendent 'Aulani Wilhelm and Keeley Belva of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Naomi McIntosh, superintendent of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. They received a message in a bottle from Maria Brown, sanctuary superintendent at Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Roz carried the NOAA drift bottle with her all the way from San Francisco. The message read:

A Call For Help – Now!

A yet unspoken message underlies the others: that faced with the changes we are now witnessing on our planet, we cannot sit idly by, nor delay even one day. Any steps we can take to stop further injury to our environment, we must take now. There is no time for denial, or for indecision. This applies to our personal footprint, our national footprint, and our species’ footprint on the planet.